1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus or method for inserting another object between objects connected with each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
Today it is common for a variety of flowcharts to be drawn using a computer. Software, for example, “Power Point” (Microsoft), “Visio” (Visio), etc., with a function to draw a graphic, etc., are well known.
A flowchart is used, for example, to indicate the procedure (or sequence) of a working process and the procedure of the process of a software program, and it usually includes a plurality of objects, and lines or connectors connecting the plurality of objects.
FIG. 1A is an example of a flowchart displayed on the monitor of a computer. In this flowchart, three objects (objects A through C) are connected in alphabetical order. A box formed using dotted lines indicates a display area in a virtual coordinate system, and it is not actually displayed. A rectangle in each box indicates an object. An object drawn using solid lines and an object drawn using dotted lines indicate a state where data are set and a state where data are not set, respectively. Objects drawn using dotted lines are not actually displayed. A character inside an object indicates the content of data linked to the object. A line which connects objects indicates the order or subordinate relationship between the objects in a flowchart. For example, since a line AB (line connecting objects A and B) starts from the upper right corner of object A, it indicates that object A is the object preceding object B and that object B is the object following object A.
When a flowchart is drawn, a case often occurs where in addition to the addition and deletion of an object, a new object is inserted between objects previously connected. For example, a case occurs where a new object D is inserted between objects A and B. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1B, a line connecting objects A and B is deleted. When a line is deleted, two objects at either end of the line are designated or a line to be deleted is designated after a deletion process is called from a menu.
Then, as shown in FIG. 1C, a new object is created, and the new object is linked to data D. A process for creating an object, for example, is called from a menu. Then, as shown in FIG. 1D, objects A and D are connected, and objects D and B are connected. Then, in order to make the flowchart easy to understand, each object is appropriately moved, as shown in FIG. 1E. As a result, a state shown in FIG. 1F is obtained.
As described above, a process for inserting a new object between objects previously connected in a flowchart, etc., is a prior art. However, according to conventional application software, it requires much work for a user to operate in that kind of edit process, and the user often felt it was troublesome. For example, in a example shown in FIGS. 1A through 1F, a user must perform the following operations.
(a) Delete a line displayed in the position where a new object will be inserted.
(b) Connect an object previously displayed and a new object to be inserted.
(c) Re-locate the objects.
This problem becomes more serious in particular when a new object is inserted in a graphic where a connection relation between objects is complicated. For example, a procedure in the case where a state shown in FIG. 2E is generated by inserting object H between object A and objects B through G in the state shown in FIG. 2A is described. In this case, first, lines connecting object A and objects B through G are deleted one by one, as shown in FIG. 2B. Then, as shown in FIG. 2C, object H is created, and objects A and H are connected. Then, as shown in FIG. 2D, object H and objects B through G are connected one by one. Then, in order to make the graphic easy to understand, the objects are re-located, and as a result, a state shown in FIG. 2E is obtained.
In this way, as the number of lines to be deleted or the number of lines to be newly set increases, the amount of work and working time of a user also increase. The probability of errors which occur when a line is deleted or set, also increases.
This problem not only occurs in application software for drawing flowcharts, but it also occurs in software for drawing graphics and software for drawing circuit diagrams, etc.